Remote control system



Nov. 19, 1946. A P. JACKEL REMOTE CONTROL SYS TEM Filedv'July 31, 1943 8 Sheets-Sheet l I IN'VENTOR APLhuPR Jackel.

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Patented Nov. 19, 1946 REMOTE CONTROL SYSTEM Arthur P. Jackel, Penn Township, Allegheny County, Pa., assignor to The Union Switch & Signal Company, Swissvale, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application July 31, 1943, Serial No. 496,907

16 Claims. 1

My invention relates to remote control systems, and more particularly to centralized traffic control systems for railroads comprising an oifice and a plurality of stations connected by line wires over which impulse code signals are transmitted to effect the operation of trafiic governing devices located along the trackway, and to indicats the condition of such devices at the ofiice.

The system of my invention is of the time code typaemploying codes of long and short elements which are transmitted one at a time over a single line circuit, and is based upon the system shown in Letters Patent of the United States No. 2,229,249, granted January 21, 1941, to L. V. Lewis, for Remote control systems. My system includes also certain improvements upon the system of this patent relating to the use of a central battery line circuit of the bridged type first shown in Letters Patent of the United States, No. 2,303,875, granted December 1, 1942, to G. W. Baughman and N. F. Agnew, for Remote control systems in order to permit the joint use of the same line wires by the centralized traffic control system and by other communication facilities.

Certain features of my invention disclosedbut not claimed herein, are claimed in my divisional applications, Serial No. 554,199, filed September 15, 1944, for Selective receiver for remote control systems, now Patent No. 2,381,499, issued August 7, 1945, and Serial No. 554,200, filed September 15, 1944, for Transmitting apparatus for remote control systems, now Patent 2,393,377, issued Jan. 22, 1946.

The components of the system of my invention are preferably assembled in the form of coding and storage units each containing a group of relays. The system employs a station coding unit at each field location for transmitting indication codes and for selectively receiving control codes, together with a station storage unit for each unit group of controlled trafiic governing devices, for associating such devices with the station coding unit. The office equipment preferably includes an individual control panel for each unit group of controlled trafiic governing devices, and an ofiice coding unit which is connected over the line circuit with the station coding units to establish communication selectively between each panel and the corresponding station storage unit.

One feature of my invention is the provision of an improved station storage unit requiring fewer relays than heretofore, due to the provision of a pair of register relays which are operated alternately and repeatedly to register the character of a series of code elements, in place of a series of register relays, one for each element, as used heretofore.

Another feature of my invention relates to improved arrangements for associating additional station storage units with the same coding unit, reducing the number of relays required when the number of controlled devices at a location is larger than can be controlled and indicated by a single composite code. A limited number of storage units may be connected directly to the station coding unit, as heretofore, and in addition, auxiliary groups of selecting relays, designated pyramid units, may be interposed to afford connections for additional storage units, only one station coding unit being required at a location even though the number of controlled devices is sufiicient to absorb the entire capacity of the system.

Another feature of my invention comprises the provision of a starting relay of the normally energized type in each station storage unit which takes the place of two relays as required heretofore, and is also more efilcient in operation. 'Iviy invention as arranged for the indication of train movements includes an improved track OS storage feature for insuring the transmission of an indication of a train movement through a particular track section even though the line circuit is not available when the train movement takes place.

The system of my invention also includes numerous circuit improvements whereby the timing of the relays which measure the lengths of the code elements is more accurately controlled, as will hereinafter be pointed out, thereby increasing the margin of reliability of the system, and causing it to function properly through a wider range of variation of local battery voltage.

Another'feature of my invention relates to improved arrangements for efiecting joint operation over a line circuit which is used for the operation of telephone call selectors, without interference.

Another feature of my invention relates to provisions at the office for preventing the further reception of a code containing a manifest error,

, such as might occur due to a fault when two stations attempt to transmit different code calls at the same time. a i 7 Other features, purposes and objects of my invention will be pointed out as the description proceeds.

One form of apparatus embodying my invention and several modifications thereof will now be described and the novel features thereof will then be pointed out in claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figs. 1A, 1B and 1C, taken together, illustrate in condensed form oifice equipment employed in one for .l of centralized trafiic control system embodying my invention The apparatus. :of FigsilA and 1B comprises the'ofiice coding unit for generating and delivering control codes to the line circuit, and for receiving indication codes. Fig.

location arranged as required-"when there is but one unit group of controlled devices at the location. The apparatus of Figs; 2A'and 2B, together with the lef -hand portion of Fig. 20, comprises I the station coding unit, while the right-hand portion of Fig. 2C shows the relays of a station storage unit suitable for the control of a typical groupof 'traflic governing devices. Fig. 20 also includes a .trackdiagram illustrating such a group, which as showmincludes a power oper-x -ated track switch and a group of signals such as are commonly associated'with one-end of a passing siding on a single track railway. It is to be understoodthatthe portion of the coding unit shown in'Fig. 2C is arranged to provide connections for from one to five station storage units, such as the oneshown.

Fig. 3 illustrates the circuits for the pyramid units hereinbefore referred .to, and replaces the left-hand portion of Fig. 2G in the circuit plans;

when connections for additional storage units are required. v

Fig. 4 illustrates amodifi-cation of a portion selectors are controlled, this View also-showing a typicalcodewheel and apparatus for transmitting selector code calls.

Fig. 5 illustrates another modification of 7 a portion of the officecoding unit of Fig. 1A, .com-

prising a. circuit for controlling a secondary transmitter relay TS which may be used when the control office is locatedat an intermediate point in the line, ortc meet other special line condi-;.

tions.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts in each of the several views.

Referring to Fig. 1A, the reference characters Y and Z designate a pair of line wires which extend from the ofiice through the several stations and provide a line circuit for the centralized traffic control system of my invention and also may be used to provide channels for telephone and telegraph communication, as explained in connection with th similarly designated line wires shown in the Baughman et al. Patent No.

2,303,875. This line circuit, as shown, is nor- "mally energized by current from the office line battery as, the positive terminal of whichis normally connected to line'wire Y and the negative terminal to line wire Z over back contacts I) and d of a pole changer relay PC and of the "office transmitter relay OT and the coils of a suitable low pass filter LPF, and control codes" are transmitted by opening and closing the line circuit by operating relay OT periodically. The circuit also includes back contacts I) and d of a lockout relay X, provided in accordance with a feature of my invention, and in addition, the primary windings of an impulse transformer RT,

by means of which the office line relay OR is controlled-when receiving indication codes, and

the normally closed contact of a disconnect button DB by means of which the line may be opened .r-nanually. Relay OR is of the stick polar type,

as described and claimed in Patent N0. 2,303,875,

--and responds to impulses of alternately opposite "polarity delivered by transformer RT when the lin icurrentis varied by the operation of a station transmitter relay T, such as' is shown in 2A. Indication codes are transmitted by operating relay T to connect the line wires together periodically through an impedance of relatively low value iii-comparison with the normal impedance of the line circuit, comprising of the oiilce coding unit which replaces the upper part ofFig. 1A in the circuit plans when the sysa -tem isto use aline circuit over which telephone v ferred to.

the coils of alow pass filter LPF'similar to the one at the office, which is interposed between the-line and the station apparatus.

" At each field station, as shown in Fig. 2A, 2.

- high resistance line relay R is connected across the line wires Y and Z in series with a resistor WI, the connection normally including back contacts band d of a master relay M and the coils of the low pass filter LPF. The station line relays Rare of the biased polar type and are normally energized, in parallel, by current supplied by battery 8%, each relayR closing its left-hand contacts a and b, as shown, when its left-hand terminal i positive, and closing its right-hand contacts a and bwhen energized. in the reverse direction. with its right-hand terminal. positive, or when-deenergized. The connection of the station apparatus to the line wires Y and Z'is controlled by a fault relay RPP in a mannerhereinafter pointed out, but as this relay is not involved in the normal operation of the system itmay be assumed for the present to remain inits normal energized osition as shown. I

Each station line relay R. controls a group of slow release timing relays Ll, L2, LP, LB and LBP. These timing relays are normally deenergized and are controlled by relay R to govern the transmission and reception of codes in accordance with line conditions like the similarly designated relays of Patent No. 2,229,249, hereinbefore re- Their release times are likewise governed by electronic rectifiers, as shown, the rectifiers also serving to prevent contact sparking and to minimize contact wear, as explained in this'patent.

The system. of my invention is arranged to employ codes each having sixteen steps, and in each control code delivered by the oflice transmitter relay OT, the line circuit is open during each odd-numbered'step and closed during-each even-numbered step. More articularly, the oiiice coding unit is placed in condition. to transmit a control code by energizing the master relay OM of Fig. 1A, which completes circuits for eifecting the periodic operation of the associated transmitter relay OT to open and close the line circuit to operate the line relays R at all stations in unison, both the open and closed periods consti tuting code elements.

When the line circuit is opened to begin the "first element of a code, each line relay Rreleases "and its right-hand contact b completes a circuit from the-positive or sup-ply terminal B of a suitable local source of current over aback contact d of relay I6,;back contact a of relay L2, back contact g of relay LBP through relay LI to the negative or common return terminalC of the source. Relay LI then picks up and its front contact a completes a circuit from terminal B at the right-hand contact I) of relay R through relay L2 to terminal C, so that relay L2 picks up, completing a stick circuit at its own front contact a and also completing a circuit from terminal B over front contacts of relays L! and L2 to pick up relay LP, which relay in turn completes circuits over its front contact a to pick up relays LB and LBP. Relay LBP becomes energized in tandem with relay LB when the latter closes its front contact a so that these relays release successively after relay LP is released. When relay L2 picks up on the first step of a code, its contacts a and 9 shift .theccnnections of relay LI from the right-hand to the left-hand contact I; of relay R, and then contact g of relay LBP is picked up to maintain the latter connection until the code is terminated. It follows that relays Li and L2 are energized alternately, relay LI over the lefthand contact I) of relay R, and relay L2 over the right-hand contact 2) of relay R, in response to the periodic operation of relay R. Relays LI and L2 remain picked up for the duration of short code elements, relay LI releasing during each odd-numbered long element and relay L2 during each even-numbered long element. These relays serve, therefore, to indicate code character in a received code, and together with relay LP they serve to control the lengths of the long steps of a code generated by the associated transmitter relay T. Relay LB and its repeater relay LBP are bridging relays which remain picked up for the duration of a code and serve to prepare various local circuits when the code operation of relay R begins and to open them when it ceases.

The oliice line relay OR, Fig. 1A, controls a similar group of timing relays OLI, 0L2, OLP, OLB and OLBP, which function in a similar manner. Relay 0R, however, is normally deenergized and is adapted to hold its contacts in either position towhich it is operated by a momentary impulse, and hence it may become accidentally reversed. 'If this occurs, relay OR is restored automatically to normal by the action of the timing relays in a manner hereinafter explained, and it may be assumed therefore that relay OR, although deenergized, occupies its normal position corresponding to that of the normally energized station line relays R, when the system is in its normal at rest condition.

When receiving indication codes, relay OR is operated by impulses of alternately opposite polarity delivered by transformer RT. During the transmission of control codes the master relay OM, Fig. 1A, is held energized and its contact 0 short circuits transformer RT and disconnects it from relay OR, and relay OR is then operated locally by the transmitter relay OT. When relay OM picks up, relay OR becomes energized in the normal direction, as shown, over the circuit from the mid point terminal 0 of the local battery through its lower winding, back contact 6 of relay OT and front contact 6 of relay. OM to the negative terminal C. Relay OT becomes energized over contact at of relay OM and is then controlled over wires 68, Stand 62 in a manner hereinafter explained to generate the code. Each time relay 0T picks up, it opens the line circuit at its contacts b, and d to release the line relays R at the stations and connects line wire Y to wire Z through a resistor W to discharge the line charging current as is desirable when the line is in a cable. At the same time, relay OT operates relay OR to reverse over the circuit extending from the positive terminal B over front contact e of relay OT through relay OR to terminal 0. Each time relay OT releases it closes the line circuit to pick up the line relays R and at the same time it operates relay OR to normal 'by completing the circuit at its back contact e extending from terminal 0- through relay OR to terminal C. Relay OR thus operates in unison with the relays R during the transmission of control codes.

Each line relay controls a chain of counting relays over circuits generally similar to those of Patent No. 2,229,249. Thus relay OR, by means of its contact a, controls the counting relays OI to O8 and 018 of Fig, 1B, and each relay R controls a similar chain such as the relays I to 8 and I6 of Fig. 23. Referring to Figs. 2A and 2B, it will be seen that a pick-up circuit for relay 5 is closed momentarily in response to the first of a series of operations of relay R, which extends from terminal B at the right-hand contact a of relay R over back contact e of relay I6, back contact b of relay LBP, front contact g of relay Ll, wire IBI through relay I to terminal C. Relay I therefore picks up on the first step of a code upon the energization of relay LI, and when relay LBP picksup, it opens the circuit just traced and closes a stick circuit for relay I extending over front contact 17 of relay LBP, wire H9, back contact b of relay 2, front contact a and winding of relay 5 to terminal C. When relay R is operated to normal to begin the second step of a code, terminal 13 is disconnected from relay. I, which remains picked up due to the discharge path provided by the rectifier connected to wire H2, and a circuit is closed from the left-hand contact a of relay R over front contact at of relay LBP, wire 28, back contact a of relay 8, front contact I) of relay I through relay 2 to terminal C. Relay 2 therefore picks up and completes its stick circuit extending to terminal B at Wire I20 over its front contact a and back contact b of relay 3. The operation of contact I) of relay 2 disconnects relay I from the rectifier but closes a second discharge path for relay I comprising the winding of relay 3, whereby relay I releases shortly after relay 2 picks up but without sparking at its contact a, the dropping of which con nects relay 3 to wire H9 to condition that relay to respond to the third step of the code. Relays A to it are similarly controlled one at a time by current supplied alternately over wires H9 and I20 in response to the fourth to eighth steps of the code. If the various operations associated with these steps as hereinafter described are properly carried out. a chain repeat relay CR is picked up on the eighth step to prepare a pickup circuit for relay I over front contact I) of relay 8 so that relay I will operate as the next in order after relay 8, relays I to I being then operated through a second cycle on the ninth to fifteenth .teps of the code, relay i6 responding in place of relay 8 on the sixteenth step, during which the apparatus is restored to its normal at rest condition.

From a comparison of these circuits with those of Patent No. 2,229,249, itwill be seen that a discharge path is provided for each of the relays I to 8 each including the winding of another relay, which paths are effective on each intermediate step of the code, whereas in the patent'they are effective on certain steps and not on others. It follows that the circuits asshown herein provide more uniform. and accurate operation of the counting relays in receiving a code, and since these relays control the transmitter relay T, the transmitted impulses are made-more uniform.

Referring now to Figs. 1A and 13, it will be seen that the oflice counting chain circuits are similar to those above described, relay Ol picking up on the first step over wire 8!, the remaining relays being operated one at a time by current supplied alternately over wires !9 and 2%) in response to the periodic operation of relay OR.

In Patent No. 2,229,249, the timing relays Li and L2 and the counting relays are energized in parallel over the same contacts of the line relay, in which case the release periods of the timing relays depends to some extent on whether or not a counting relay is connected in parallel therewith to provide a discharge path for a portion of its stored energy. This is a variable condition in the normal operation of the system, as hereinafter pointed out, and the provision of separate contacts a and b for the line relays R and OR renders the operation of the timing relays more uniform and accurate.

I shall now describe the transmission of a control code, step by step, by the oifice apparatus of Figs. 1A, 1B and 1C.

To initiate a control code, the operator momentarily presses a starting button STB identifying the control panel associated with the station storage unit to which the code is to be transmitted to thereby pick up a starting relay such as the relay ZMST, which relay is held encrgized over a stick circuit extending to terminal 13 at the back contact 2' of an associated panel selector relay such as the relay 2343 until the desired selection has been eifected. Wire 4?, in Fig. 1C, is normally connected over back contacts of various selecting relays E, F and G to branched circuits extending to contact b of the startin I B at wire 41 over the back contacts b of relays 0L! and 0L2 through relay OM to wire I? and then. to terminal C at the normally closed contact of the cancelling button CB. Relay OM therefore picks up in response to the operation of any starting relay such as ZMST and completes a pulsing circuit for the ofiice transmitter relay OT extending from terminal B at back contact e of relay Ole over back contacts a of relays O1, O5, O3 and 0!, wire 68, contact d of relay OM through relay OT and resistors W2 and W3 to terminal C. Relay OT therefore picks up to begin the first step of the code, its front contacts b and d opening the line circuit to release the station line relays and its front contact e completing a circuit already traced for operating relay OR to its reverse position, whereupon relay OR operates the timing relays 0L and the first countin relay OI as already described. When relay OLB picks up, itscontact c completes a stick circuit for relay OM extending from terminal B at back contact 2 of relay OlS, wire I8, contacts 0 of relays OLB and OLBP, in parallel, contact a and winding of relay OM, and thence over wire I! to terminal 0.

The first step of each control code is a lon stepto distinguish it froman indication code in which the first step is relatively short.

When relay OI picks up on the first step, its back contact 7 opens the pulsing circuit for relay OT, but relay OT is held energized to generate a long step over a branch circuit extending from terminal B at front contact 0 of relay OI, back contact 01 of relay SP, contact e of relay OLI and contact I) of relay OLP in parallel, back contact e of relay SP to wire 68, and'thence over contact 01 of relay OM and the windin and front contact c of relay OT through resistor W3 to terminal c. Relays OLI and OLP then release successively, the opening of contact I) of relay OLP disconnecting terminal B from wire 68 causing relay OT to release to energize the line relays R and to operate relay OR to the left to begin the second step, relay OR causing relay O2 to pick up and relay OI to release.

The closing of back contact g of relay Ol completes the pulsing circuit for relay OT over wire 63, this circuit functioning repeatedly to generate the short steps of the code. The pick-up time of relay OT depends upon the time constant 7 of the circuit including its winding and resistors W2 and W3. When relay OT picks up, its front contact 0 short circuits resistor W2 so that the energization of relay OT rises quickly to a higher value than would otherwise be the case, and consequently providing a more constant release period under conditions of variable voltage. Its release period, it will be noted, is determined by 1e time constant of the circuit including its winding and resistor W3 only, and it follows that its pick-up andrelease periods may be adjusted independently.

Wires 6| and 62 provide connections, described hereinafter in detail, for holding relay OT picked 7 up or released to generate the long steps of the code. The connection-from terminal B to wire M is controlled by relays OLI and OLP so as to hold relay OT picked up after its pulsing circuit opens, to generate a, long odd-numbered step, while a similar connection controlled by relays 0L2 and OLP extending from terminal B over wire 62 and front contact f of relay OM and back contact 0 of relay OT to the left-hand terminal of relay OT is effective to short circuit its winding and thereby hold relay OT released after its pulsing circuit closes, to generate along even-numbered step.

The second to eighth steps of each code may are generated by completing connections from terminal B at contacts b of the office starting relays ST, to wires 6! and 62, these being arranged so that when a plurality'of starting relays are energized, their respective codes will be transmitted one at a time in a given order of code superiority, a long element taking precedence over a short one on each step. That is to say, 234 is the most superior code call, 235 the next, and so on, 678 beingthe most inferior. The selection of the office panel containing an energized relay ST is effected by the energization of an entry relay E, Fig.- 1C, in response to the first element of the code, followed by the energization of three relays in sequence by the three long elements of the code call, comprising a first selector relay F, a group selector relay G, and a station selector relay S, these relays being identified more particularly by prefixes designating the code elements by which their operation is effected. For example, relay 2F is responsive to the second element, relay 23G to the third, provided relay 2F has been operated, and relay 234s to the fourth, provided relay 23G has been operated. When used to capacity the system will employ five F relays, fifteen G relays and 35 S relays, arranged enerally as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4 of Patent No. 2,229,249 and since the relation of these relays one to another and the connections for associating the different panels with the coding unit may be ascertained from the patent, for simplicity I have shown the circuits herein in condensed form, showing the circuits in detail for only one panel and for only one selecting relay of each kind.

Relay E is picked up on the first step of each code, over a circuit extending from terminal B at contact a of relay OLBP, Fig. 1A, wire 60, back contact a of relay SP, front contact d of relay OI, Wire 2|, through relay E to terminal C, and relay E then completes a stick circuit at its front contact at extending over back contact m of relay 2F, and over back contacts of relays 3F to BF, if provided, to wire 29, and thence over resistor W4, back contact a of relay SP and wire 60 to terminal B at contact a of relay OLBP,

It is to be understood that each of the branch circuits extending from terminal B at contact b of a starting relayST to wire 41 identifies the correspondin code call, as indicated by the references 234 to 238, adjacent contacts g to k of relay 23G. When relay E picks up, these branches are all disconnected from wire 31 and divided into groups by contacts 9 to lb of relay E, and connected to wires 32 to 36 to prepare circuits for generating the first digit of the code call.

When relay 02 picks up on the second step, the connection from terminal B to wire 32 is extended over contact of relay 02, back contact J of relay OCR to wire 62, and thence to the lefthand terminal of relay OT, thereby short circuiting its winding and holding relay OT released to generate a, long second step. Relays 0L2 and OLP release, completing a circuit from terminal B at wire 60 over back contact a of relay OCR, wire 58, back contacts d of relays 0L2 and OLP, wire 64, back contacts d of relays OCR and OCD, front contact d of relay 02, wire 22, front contact 17 of relay E through relay 2F to terminal C. Relay 2F picks up, its contact a completin its stick circuit extending over back contacts a of relay 23G and of other G relays of the same group, such as the relays 24G to 21G, if provided, to wire 29, and thence to terminal B over wire 6%].

When relay 2F picks up, the branch circuits extending from wire 32 to terminal B over the contacts of those starting relays which have 2 as the first digit of their code calls are disconnected from wire 32 and divided into groups/by contacts 9 to k of relay 2F and connected to Wires 33to 31 to prepare circuits for generating the second digit of the code call. The interruption of the connection to wire 62 by the opening of back contact 9 of relay 2F allows relay OT to pick up to begin the third step.

Relay E is released by the opening of back contact m of relay 2F, and the opening offront contacts h to k of relay E disconnects the branch cir- 10 cuits for generating code calls in which the first digit is 3, 4, 5 or 6.

Each of the relays E, F and G, and certain other relays hereinafter described, are provided with a discharge circuit including a resistor in lieu. of the usual rectifier. These resistors are of a relatively high value in comparison with the resistance of the relay winding, and provide a slight degree of retardation in accordance with the circuit requirements, and also serve to prevent contact sparking.

When relay 03 picks up, the connection from terminal B over wire 33 is extended over contact 0 of relay O3 and back contact e of relay OCR to wire 5! to complete the stick circuit for relay O'I to generate the long third step of the code call 234. Relays OLI and OLP release, completing a circuit from terminal B at wire Bil over back contact a of relay OCR, wire 53, back contact (2 of relays OLP and OLI to wire 63, back contacts b of relays OCR and OCD, front contact (1 of relay 03, wire 23, front contact I) of relay 2F through relay 23G to terminal C. Relay 23G picks up, its contact a completing a stick circuit extending over back contacts a of the associated G relays in series to wire 29, and thence to terminal B at wire 60.

When relay 23G picks up, the branch circuits extending from wire 33 to terminal B over the contacts of those starting relays which have 23 as the first two digits of their code calls are disconnected from Wire 33 and divided into branches by contacts 9 to k of relay 2G and connected to wires 34 to 33 to prepare circuits for'gcnerating the third digit of the calls 234 to 238, respectively. The interruption of the connection to wire 63 by the opening of back contact g of relay 23G allows relay OT to release to begin the fourth step.

Relay 2F is released by the openin of back con tact a of relay 23G, and the opening of front contacts h to k of relay 2F disconnects the branch circuits which these contacts control, thereby limiting the control of the third digit to those starting relays of the group 235 to 238.

When relay 04 picks up, the connection from terminal B over wire 34 is extended'over contact 0 of relay O4 and back contact f of relay OCR and wire 62 to hold relay OT released to generate the long fourth step of the code call 234. Relays 0L2 and OLP release, completing a circuit from terminal B at wire 66 over back contact a of relay OCR, wire 58, back contacts (1 of relays OLP and 0L2, wire 64, back contacts at of relays OCR and OCD, front contact if of relay 04, wire 24, contact b of relay 23G through relay 23% to terminalC. Relay 234s picks up and the closing of its front contact a extends the connection from terminal B at its left-hand terminal, to wire 33 and thence through relay SP to terminal C, so that relay SP picks up, completing its stick circuit extending from terminal B over wire 6% and its front contact a and winding to terminal C, and also completing a stick circuit for relay 2315s extending from terminal B at the front contact a of relay SP, wire Siland the front contact a and winding of relay 234$ toterminal C. i

The interruption of the connection to wire 62 by the opening of back contact 51'" of relay 2343 allows relay OT to pick up to begin the fourth step.

It'will be seen, therefore, that whereas at the end of the first long step, relay CT is operated by opening a front contact of relay LP, in the tacts of the selecting relays .215, 23G and 234s, respectively, each of which relays picks up in response to' the closing of a back contact of relay LP. It followsthat the long steps of the station code can are all-of-the same length, but these are slightly longer than the other long stepsof the;code';.which 'are terminated in the same manner asthelong first step.

When": relay S3 picks up, the opening of its.

back "contact a disconnects terminal B from wire 29, thereby releasing relay 23G. The opening of the front contacts I) to f of relay 23G opens the pick-up circuits for relay 234s and other similar relays 2353 to 2388, not shown, of the same group, while the. opening of front contacts h to k of relay 23G prevents the generation of long code elements on the fifth to eighth steps, when contacts e of the counting relays O5 to 08 leading. to

wires. 35 to 38- are successively closed.

The fifth to eighth steps are therefore short, and :when relay 08 picks up a circuit is completed from terminal B over Wire BiLcontact h of relay O8,;contact b of relay SP, through'relay OCR to terminal C." Relay OCR therefore pick up on the eighth step completing a stick .circuit at its front contact .a, The opening of back contact a of relay OCR disconnects terminal B from Wire 58- and hence from wires es and t4, and the closing of front contact 9 of relay OCR prepares a circuit extending from wire I9 over backcontact b of relay RCR, back contact a of relay 0'! and front contact b of relay 08 through relay O! to terminal C, to allow relay 0! to be operated as the next in orderafter relay 03.

Steps 9 to 15 of the code have now been rendered available for the control of seven movable devices at the selected. stations, in accordance with the positions of the control levers or push buttons of-the corresponding panel, such as the one shown in Fig.'lC. When relay 234$ picks up, terminal B becomes connected over its contacts d to h' to the lever contacts and thence to v the wires 39 to leading to contacts 1 of relays O1 to 07. contacts of the- -odd-numbered counting relays provide connections over front contact 11 of relay Withrelay OCR picked up, the f SP, front contacts e and b'ofrelays Old and OLP in parallel, front contact e of relay OCR to wire 6| and thence to the stick circuit for relay O-T, whereby relay OT may be held energized until relays OLl and. OLP release, to thereby generate long odd-numbered code elements. The f contacts of the even-numbered counting relays provide connections over front contacts 0 of relays 0L2 and OLP in parallel, and front contact 1 of relay OCR to wire 62, and thence to th lefthand terminal of relay OT, whereby relay OT.

may be held-released until relays 0L2 and OLP release, to thereby generate long even-numbered code'- elements, these .circuits obviously being available onlyduring--'the second cycle of operation of the counting relays. In View of the similarity of these control circuits to those of Patent No. 2,229,249, a detailed description in the present application is believed to be unnecessary.

When the selector relay 234$ picks up as above described,;its' contacti transfers the direct connection of'terminal- B tothe stick circuit for the starting relay 234ST to one including wire 46 and extending to terminal B at back contact f of relay O8,- and it follows: that the operated starting relay. such'as- 23481 is released on-the eighth stepof the corresponding code. This'has the ad vantage that it permits the starting relay of. any paneltO-be reenergizedby a momentary operaand releases.

tiontof the associatedstarting button 'S'IB to store 9. second code for transmission;v even though the button is operated before'ztheafirst' code. is.

completed;

Duringthe. reception of an indication'code,

relay Ofiand' the relay S of the selected panel: are also energized as in the case of the control code described, but then=receivingrelay OM is not energizediand its backicontact 9 provides a connection from terminal '3 to wire 46 to preventthe release of the starting relay, such as relay 234ST,

in response to the operation of:relay.-OB;

When relay 0 l E picks-up on-the sixteenth step,.. which, being duezto thee release'of :r'elay OT; is a 1 line closed step, termina'lB isdisconnected from.

wires 68. and H3 at back contact 6 of reIayVO'IB slightly before relay .Olrreleases to;close its back contact ,g.. Consequently. relay OT remains released, relay OR remains normal; and relay OM-' jreleases, andxth'enthe timing' relays, OLaZ, .OLP,

OIiB; OliBP'and OLI release in that orderx Relay/J 066, which is held energized over a stick circuit including wire 48 'and contact b of relay OLB becomes deenergized upon the release of relay OLB Relay 'OLBPY disconnects terminal- B from wire 68, thereby releasing relays CR,' SP andthe operated selector relayv such as. 23 2s,: whereupon .the apparatus is in conditionsto .re-

ceive a new code. If any other office starting relay has been picked up ,to storea .control code, such 1, codewill be initiated upon the release ofrelay OLai this relay being the lastto release. The six-.

teenth step thus corresponds to the return of the line circuit to its normal closed condition, and .in.-case of the transmissionpf. successive codes,

represents a line closed step which is materially longer than any .suchistep occurring within a code;-

Consirlering now the operation. of the station apparatusof Figs: 2A, 2B1and2Cin receiving a control code just described, it will beunder-J stood that the line relay R at each stationv and the timing reEays'Li, L2, LP," LB and LBP operate in'unison with the corresponding .ofiice relays.

The counting relays at .each station operate through the first eight steps'inunison. with the ofice :ccunting relays, while only those at the.

selectedqstation atwhich :the selector'relay S is nal C. v As shown in Fig 2C; the-stationcoding unit contains a set of three selectorrelays FA, GA and vS,.;'-.vhicl 1- may be adjusta'bly connected-to respond to anyone ofthe'thirty-five'code calls, the connections a shown -.being*arranged-so; thatrelay 8 is responsive ;to the -code call 234- The circuitsfor these relays aregenerallysimilar to thosefor the ofiice selectingrelays alreadydescribedp The-circuitsfor the selector relays which respond on even-numbered steps extend" from terminal B at front contact a of relay-LBP Fig.

2A, over wire let/back contact at of relay L2, wire ltd, back contact-d of relay CR,ifront contact d j .of relay CD'and thence;over'frontycontacts d of:

13 relays 2, 4, 6 and 8 to wires I22, I24, I26 and I28. As shown, a connection to wire I22 provides a 'circuit for energizing relay FA on the second step,

relay FA having a stick circuit extending to terminal B at wire I66 over its own front contact a and a back contact "/22 of relay GA. The circuits for the selector relays which respond on oddnumbered steps extend from terminal B at wire I60 over back contact (1 of relay LI, wire I53, back contact 21 of relay CR, front contact I] of relay CD, and thence over front contacts cl of relays 3, 5 and I to wires I23, I25 and IN. As shown, a connection to wire I23 provides a circuit over contact I) of relay FA for energizing relay GA, the stick circuit for which extends to terminal B at wire I60 over its own front contact a, and back contact a of relay S. Similarly, a connection to wire I24 provides a circuit over contact b of relay GA for energizing relay S, the stick circuit for which is connected directly to terminal B at wire see over its own front contact a.

It is to be noted that the various selecting relays G and S are operated directly following the release of relay LI or L2 when the apparatus is in the receiving condition as described, and consequently these relays are operated prior to the termination of the long steps, thereby providing a margin to allow for variations in timing.

It i to be understood that the relays FA at the different locations may be connected to any of the wires I22 to I26, and the relays GA to any of the wires I23 to I21 below the one to which the associated relay FA is connected. It follows that when the code call is 234, those relays FA connected to wire I22 will respond to the second long step, those relays FA and GA connected to wire I23 will respond to the third long step and those relays FA and GA connected to wire I24 will respond to the fourth long step along with relay s of the selected station storage unit, but that the selection will be completed to pick up a relay S at one location only. At the other locations the counting relay operations terminate with the eighth step and only the line relay R and the timing relays continue in operation through the remainder of the code.

At the selected station, relay S prepares a pick up circuit for relay CR completed on the eighth step. 7 This circuit extends from terminal B at contact :1 of relay S, Fi 2C, wire I46, contact 1 of relay 8, relay CR. to terminal C, and when relay CR picks up, its front contact a completes its stick circuit extending to terminal B over wire I60. Front contact g of relay CR. completes a connection from wire I I9 over back contact a of relay 1 and front contact b of relay 8 for effecting the operation of relay I next in order after relay 8, and front contact 72 of relay CR completes a connection over back contact g of relay 8 for energizing relay It in place of relay 8, on the sixteenth step.

The ninth to fifteenth steps of the control code are employed for the control of a series of control relays of the stick polar type, in accordance with the positions of the corresponding ofiice levers. Fig. 20 shows a typical arrangement of such relays including a switch control relay WS and signal control relays LI-IS, RHS and COS, which may be used to control a track switch and an associated group of signals in the manner described in connection with Figs. 8 and 9 of Patent No, 2,229,249. In the present system,

however, the control code includes two additional steps providingfor the control of two additional 14 stick relays, such as the relays FS and MCS shown.

These polar stick relays are operated to normal or reverse by impulses supplied by the coding unit over wires I49 to I55, inclusive, and are placed under the control of the station coding unit by the operation of a delivery relay D. Relay D at the selected station is picked up when relay 8 releases on the ninth step of a control code, over a circuit extending from terminal B at contact 0 of relay CR, Fig. 23, back contact e of relay 8, front contact 0 of relay CD, wire H5, front contact g of relay S through relay D to terminal C, and remains energized until the end of the code.

Circuits suitable for operating the polar stick control relays in accordance with the long .or short character of the ninth to fifteenth steps of the code are obtained by the operation of a pair of register relays PI and P2, Fig. 2A, the circuits for which are prepared by the closing of front contacts of relays CR and CD. If relay LI re.- leases on any odd-numbered step of the group comprisin steps 9 to I5, a circuit is closed from terminal B at contact a of relay L'BP, wire I60, back contact (1 of relay LI, wire I 63, front contact b of relay CR, front contact h of relay CD, wire I29, and the upper winding of relay PI to terminal C. When relay PI picks up, it is held energized for the duration of the next following even-numbered step over a stick circuit extending from terminal B at the left-hand contact a of relay R, front contact 01 of relay LBP and the front contact a and lower winding of relay PI- to terminal C, relay PI releasing when the lefthand contact a of relay R is opened at the beginning of the next odd-numbered step. Similarly, if relay L2 releases on any one of the evennumbered steps III, I2 or I4, relay P2 is energized over the circuit from terminal B at wire I60, back contact 01 of relay L2, wire I64, front contact (1 of relay CR, contact a of relay CD, wire I19 and the upper winding of relay P2 to terminal C. When relay P2 picks up, it is held energized for the duration of the next odd-numbered step, during which relay R is reversed, over a stick circuit extending from terminal B at the right-hand contact a of relay R, back contact e of relay I 6, front contact b of relay LB? and the front contact and lower winding of relay P2 to terminal C, relay P2 releasing when the righthand contact a Of relay R is opened at the beginning of the nextodd-numbered step.

The circuits which the contacts of relays PI and P2 provide for the control of the polar stick relays are of a variety of types, one of which is illustrated bythe circuits for relay WS, which relay is controlled in accordance with the position of the switch lever SW of Fig. 10. When lever SW is normal, the ninth step of the control de i long and the eleventh step short, and when lever SW is reversed, the ninth step is short and the eleventh step long. If lever SW is normal, relay PI is picked up on the ninth step,

and When relay R is operated to the left to begin the tenth step, its contact a connects terminal B to the stick circuit for relay PI to hold it picked up, and also connects terminal B to front contact b of relay PI to complete a circuit momentarily over wire III, contact e of relay I, wire I49, contact a of relay D through the upper winding of relay WS and the front contact of relay LR to terminal C, thereby operating the contacts of relay WS to their left-hand position as shown. Relay WS is thus energized in the normal direction in multiple with relay 2, by animpulse which.

Relay.

is terminated upon the release of relay 1 PI is not operated on: the. eleventh step, and although, at the beginning-of the. twelfth step,

wire" III is connected momentarily over contact e of relay 3,wire I51, contact c of relayDand the lower winding of relay WS toterminal C; relay WS'is not energized because rela Pi is. in its released position in'whichlwire'l H is discon nected fromterminalB; Similarly,"if lever SW is reversed, so that the ninth step is short, relay Pl remains released and relay .WSis not operated on the tenth: step, 4 and when the long eleventh step is. reached relay Pl picks up'so that relay WS receives an impulse through its lower Winding to operate .it to reverse on the twelfth step.

Another'type of 'controlcir'cuit-is illustrated by the one" for relay FS; which is controlled by the ofiice Ikey 'FTB so as to be operated .to normal or reverse in accordance withlthe short or long character of a singlecode step: If the tenthstep is short, relay 'P2'is'rin tits released position iwhen relay R is operatedfto :the right. to begin the eleventhstep; anda circuit'is then closed mmentaril i from terminal 3' at the; right-hand contactaof relay R'over back contact e of relay I6,-'front contact b-of relay. LBP, backcontact-b of relay P2, Wire l 56 throughrelay PS to contact b of relay-1D", wire .IEELx-contact e of relay 2,'wire H2,.b'ack contact c of relay P2,.to terminal-Use that relay: FS' is operated Ito the left. If the tenth step islong relay P2 ispicked .up .and held energized by relay R for the duration of the eleventh step and its'contacts b and '0 reverse the direction of the flow of current throughrelay FS, andit will-be .operatedito. the right. The circuits 'for -relays'MSCLand COS are similarly controlled by relay P2,. and relays LI-IS and RHS inaft'er described :to' energize these relays in the normal directiom :in response to the release of the .track'relay' TR.

' In the foregoing-two types of circuits for controlling-polar stick-relays are described: Inthe first type-i as.-ill ustrate'd by the. circuitfor relay WS, the polar stick relaiy is energized only if the corresponding register relay P3 or P2 is picked up response to along step, -and' lis noneresponsive ifthe step is short; In-the second type, as illustrated by the circuitfor relay. FSy-the polar. stick relay isenergizedin one direction if the assigned release in unison with :the corresponding;.oflicer relays'and' likewise the-relays .1, it; CR and S :at

the selected station,.relay. Li. beingthevlast to:

release. Relay CD is released by relay LBP along With relay CR and then'relay D is released, placing the apparatus in condition to receive a new code. The release ofLrelay. Ll. places the appa-.

ratusin condition to initiate the transmission of an indication "code; assuniingthat the relay 'SS,

hereinafter describedgis: not -.energizecl.

The. station coding apparatus of Figs. 2A, 2B and.:2C'. is also adapted to transmitindication codes whichthe. officezapparatus is adapted to receive. Each indication code comprises sixteen steps, of which the? firstlis relatively short, the second to eighthiarezarranged inzdiflerent combinations of threeilo-ng =-and four. short steps to operate selecting relays'F, G and S at the office and station in accordance with different code calls as already described, and in which. theninth to fifteenth steps may 'be made long or short to indicate the condition of-seven movable devices at the station by the operation of a group of indicationrelays K-of the selected oiiice panel, on the sixteenth step of the code.

A typical group of such devices is shown in Fig. 26, illustrated asagroupof indicatingrelays including a track stc'ring relay TKS, an approach relay AR, a power-ofixrelay .POR, normal and reverse switch repeating relays NWPand RWP, and two .signal3contro1 relays LHR and RHR. The station apparatus;.isarranged to initiate an indication.codexautomaticallydn response to a change in position ofany ofrthe indicating relays, each such code being stored for transmission when theline circuit becomes available, by the release of the station starting-relay ST of Fig. 2C. Relay .ST is normallyheld energized over a stick circuit extending frornxterminal B at its own front contact mover back contact e of relay S, the winding of relay ST and thence over a front orback contact c of each of the several indicating relays, in series, .to. terminalC. An indication code may also be initiated manually by thetransmission of a special frecallf. code from the office,

' by means of which relay ST Inayalso be released,

step is. long and in'the opposite direction if that 7 step is short.

A third type, not-shown, is-also availablegand may be ebtaine'd by connecting anyof -the-relays to wire 158' or l59,' le'ading-to back contact a of relay Pt' or- P i, Fig; 2A, -instead of to wire I56 er i5l. Assuming that one terminal of relay PS isconnectedto wire I58 instead" of "to'wir'e l56',-for-eXample,-= its other terminal 7 being connected to wire HB- asshoWn, itwill-be seenthat'relay FS will be-momentar-ily energized is reached; the line relays R; remain steadily energized 4 and-"thetiming relays L- at each station as explained hereinaften. Heretofore a normally energized starting. circuit ofv this type has been objected .to because of the necessity for a special adjustment of the contacts oi the indicating relaysin order to. insure the release of the starting relay during the brief period the circuit is opened during the transitof the contact from one position to another, This clifiiculty hasybeen overcome in the circuits as'shown by'the use ofa sensitive relay of the biased polar type having an inductance '58 connected across its terminals. The energy stored 'in' coil "it when relay-ST is energized provides -asource of induced current 1 for operating relay ST to its reverse position to open its stick circuit in response to any sudden increase in circuit resistance due tothe movement of one of-the-indicating relay-contacts 0, even thoughthe time such contact is actually open is substantially zero,'consequently no special adjustment of these contacts is needed;

I shall next describe the transmission of an indication code by'the apparatus of Figs. 2A, 2B

and 2C, assuming the code to beinitiated as the result of a train movementthro-ugh thetrack section IT. The opening of contact a of the track relay TR; opens the normallyv closed stick circuit for relay TKSv extending vto terminalB .at its-fr'ont contact 1), and also opens its pickeup circuit extending 'from terminal l3 atback contact. 0

. 17' h of relay MSP, left-hand contact 02 of relay ST and front contact a of relay TR through relay TKS to terminal C, and relay TKS releases, its contact in turn, opening the stick circuit for relay ST causing it to release.

If the line circuit is available, the starting circuit is closed, extending from terminal 13 over back contacts I) of relays ST and SS, wire Hi7, contact Z) of relay RP,-contact a of a cut-out relay COR, back contacts b of relays L! and L2 through relay M to terminal C. Relay M picks up, completing a temporary stick circuit over its contact a extending to terminal B at wire Ml over back contact 0 of relay LBP. Contacts b and d of relay M reverse the connections of relay R'to line wires Y and Z, front contact d of relay M also closing a low impedance shunt path from line Y over back contacts I of relays CD and LPB to line Z. Contacts 0 and d of relay M now connect the condensers of the low pass filter LPF' across the line, so that during transmission, its connections correspond to those of the one at the office. Normally, the impedance across the line presented by the station apparatus is materially increased, as is desirable, by disconnecting those condensers, this arrangement being shown in a co-pending application for Letters Patent of the United States Serial No. 401,092, filed July 5, 1941, by G. W. Baughman and N. F. Agnew, for Remote control systems.

When the line circuit is shunted by relay M, the associated line relay R releases and the increase in current delivered by battery 80 causes transformer RT, Fig, 1A, to deliver an impulse operating relay OR to reverse substantially in unison with relay R.

Relay R operates the associated timing relays and relay I, the closing of contact 0 of relay LB completing the normal stick circuit for relay M extending over wire H8 and back contacts e of relays l6 and CD to terminal B.

Relay OR operates the timing relays 0L, relay I and relay E, as on the first step of a control code, and in addition a circuit is completed from terminal B at the right-hand contact a of relay OR over back contact 71. of relay OLBP, back contact I) of relay OM, back contact d of relay 0! 6 through relay PC to wire I! and thence to terminal C at contact a of button CB. Relay PC therefore picks up and its contacts b and d reverse the polarity of the current delivered to the line, while its contact 0 completes a circuit energizing a slow pick-up, slow release repeating relay PCP.

Thesudden variation in the line current due to the operation of relay PC is devoid of effect upon relay OR for the reason that when relay PC picks up, the secondary of transformer RT is momentarily short circuited over the front contact c of relay PC and back contact 0 of relay PCP, and the lower winding of relay OR is energized in the reverse direction over the circuit extending from terminal B at back contact b of relay PCP, front contact 1 of relay PC, and back contacts 0 of relays X, OM and OT through relay DR to terminal 0. Relay PC is held energized over a stick circuit including its front contact a and front contact h of relay OLBP until relay Ol6 picks up upon the return of relay OR to normal at the end of the code.

The shunt across line wires Y and Z applied by relay M at the transmitting station as described will also short circuit and consequently release the line relays R at stations more remote 1 fromth'e oilice. If the transmitting station is at a considerable distance from the office it may be that the voltage across th line, which, varies from nearly the full voltage'of battery 8!] at the office to substantially zero at the point where the shunt is applied, will remain sufiicient to keep the relays R picked upat stations near th office. These relays, however, will be released by the reversal of line polarity by relay PC. It follows that all line relays R release substantially in unison when any relay M picks up to initiate a code, each relay R operating its timing relays L and first counting relay 1.

At each station at which relay M is not operated, relay R remains released, holding relay L2 energized but allowing relay Ll to release to pick up relay CD, and then relays LP, LB, LBP, l and CD release in that order.

At the transmitting station, the closing of front contact e of relay M completes the pulsing circuit for relay T, which extends from terminal B at back contact e of relay CD, Fig. 2B,. over back contact e of relay l5 and back contacts g of relays l, 5, 3 and l, wire I68, contact e of relay M through relay T and resistors W5 and WT to terminal C. Relay T transmits the code by *the operation of its contact b which is rendered efiective when relay LBP picks up on the first step to open its back contact J in parallel therewith. Each time relay T picks up, a low resistance shunt path is closed from line Y over back contact f of relay CD, front contact I) of relay T and front contact d of relay M to line Z, and at the same time, the circuit for relay R which now extends from th positive wire Z over front contact 11 of relay M, back contact b of relay T, resistor Wi, relay R, front contact 19 of relay M to wire Y, is opened by relay T, thereby releasing relay,

R more quickly than if it was merely short circuited by the closing of front contact b of re.

lay T.

Although the first stepIof an indication code is short in comparison with the first step of a control code it is slightly longer than the other short steps, since it begins .beforerelay T picks up, and because relayT is held energized until relay LB picks up, which occurs shortly after relay l picks up to open the pulsing circuit, clue to the provision of a connection from terminal B at back contact e of relay LBP over back contact at of relay LB to wire; I68.

The response of the apparatus at the transmit,

ting station as required to allow the transmission to continue is also dependent upon conditions at the ofiice. Since the connections of relay R to relay T extending from terminalB over back con.

tacts c of relays ST, SS and S, back contact g of relay GA, back contact ,6 of relay FA to wire 132,:

thence over contact 0 of relay 2 and back contact of relay CR, wire I62, contact I of relay M and.

back contact 0 of relay T'to its left ha nd terminal, thereby short circuiting relay TL On the second step, relayFA picks up in'response to the release of relays L2 and and its contact etransfers the connection of terminal]; from wire I32.

to wire I33, opening the hold-down circuit for relay T to allow it to pick up to begin the third step. The third step is prolonged by the operation of the stick circuit for relay T extending from terminal B over front contact e of relay FA to wire I33,

' thence over contact of relay 3, back contact e of opening the stick circuit for relay T to allow it to release to begin the fourth step, which like the second, is prolonged by the operation of a holddown circuit for relay T, the circuit for generating the long fourth step including front contact g of relay GA, wire I34 and contact 0 of relay 4. On the fourth step, the station selector relay S picks up in response to the release of relays L2 and LP, the opening of back contact 0 of relay S allowing relay T to release to begin the fifth step.

When relay S picks up it completes the circuit for the repeating relay MSP, extending from terminal B at front contact g of relay M, Fig. 2A, over wire I69, contact b of relay S through relay MSP to terminal C. Relay MSP therefore picks up on the step corresponding to the last digit of the code call, remaining energized until the end of the code.

Since the pulsing circuit for relay T functions in the same manner as that for relay OT already described, it will be clear that if relay S is operated on the fourth step, the fifth to eighth steps will be short steps, generated by the operation of relay T over its pulsing circuit. Relay CR picks up on the eighth step over the circuit extending from terminal B at contact d of relay S, wire I46, contact I of relay 8 through relay CR, to terminal C, relay CR completing its stick circuit extending to terminal B at wire Hill by closing its front contact a.

When relay CR picks up, it completes a pickup circuit for the normally energized starting relay ST extending from terminal B at contact 0 of relay CR over front contact e of relay 8, front contact in of relay M, wire II4, front contact of relay S through relay ST and coil Ill, in parallel, and thence over the front or back contacts 0 of the indicating relays TKS, etc., to. terminal C. Relay ST picks up and establishes a temporary stick circuit extending from terminal B at its front contact a over front contact 6 of relay S, wire I I3, front contact d of relay LE, to wire I I i, and thence as traced above through relay ST and coil 10 to terminal C.

On the eighth step, relay CR establishes connections from terminal B at the contacts 19 of the indicating relays NWP, TKS, etc. of Fig. 20 over contacts a to yof relay MSP, wires I39 to I46, completed successively over contacts 5 of relays I to I on the ninth to fifteenth steps of the code, either over contact e of relay LI and contact I) of relay LP, in parallel, and front contact 0 of relay CR to wire IBI, or over contact 6 of relay L2 and contact 0 of relay LP, in parallel, and

front contact 1 of relay CR to wire I62, to hold relay T up or down, as the case may be, until relay LP releases, thereby rendering these steps available for indicating the positions of seven indicating relays at the same location.

When the sixteenth step is reached, relay R at the transmitting station picks up, energizing relay l6 which opens its back contact e to disconnect terminal B from wires I68 and H8. Re-

20 lay T remains released and relay M releases, reversing the connections for relay R to render it responsive only to line current of normal polarity.

At theoiiice, relay OR is operated to normal,

energizing relay OIS, which relay by opening its back contact at releases relay PC, thereby restoring the line polarity to normal so that relay R will remain steadily energized after relay M releases.- Relay PC releases relay PCP, and relay OR release-s relays 0L2, OLP, OLB, OLBP and V OLI, in order.

Relay OR remains in its normal position and is not affected by the operation of relay PC because when this occurs transformer RT is short circuited over back contact 0 of relay PC and front contact 0 of relay PCP, and relay OR is relays L2, LP, LB, LBP and LI release in that order.

At the transmitting station, even though relay M releases at the exact instant that the line polarity is restored to normal, relay R may be momentarily, deenergized, but since relay I6 is picked up, its contacts d and e connect the righthand and left-hand contacts a and b of relay R together so that the circuits controlled by relay R remain in the same condition as if relay R remained steadily energized. Consequently the timing relaysL at that station release in order, substantially in unison With those at the ofiice and slightly in advance of those at the other stations. Relay MS? is released by relay M, relay It is released by relay LB and relays CR and S are released-by relay LBP. When relay. M releases, its back contact 21-, Fig. 2B, connects wire, I23 over back contact h of relay I to wire IIli to maintain the temporary stick circuit forrelay ST closed after relay LB releases. When relay S releases, the dropping of its continuity transfer contact 6 restores the normal stick circuit over which relay ST is held energized until a change occurs in the position of one of the indicating relays toinitiate a new code.

Itwill be seen that all coding unitsarere stored to normal and placed in the proper receiving condition prior to the release of relays OLE and LI to condition the system for the transmission of the next code.

. Achange in position of one of the indicating relays may occur during the transmission of the indication code just described. If this occurs prior to the transmission-of any of the indicating I steps nine to fifteen, relay ST will be reenergizedonthe eighth stepand but one code will be transmitted. Since the pick-up circuit for relay ST is opened at the beginning of the ninth step, the.

temporary stick circuit by which relay ST is held energized will bev opened to cause it to release It may also occur, dueto afault, that the transa mission} is interrupted before the; sixteenth step is reached to restore the normal stick circuit for V 21 relay ST. If an extended pause in theoperation of relay R. occurs after relay ST has been picked up, relay LI or L2 will release, releasing relay LB. In this instance relay LB will open its contact at before relay M releases, to release relay ST and thereby condition the apparatus to retransmit the code in its entirety when the line becomes available.

Heretofore in connection with starting" relays of the normally energized type, as illustrated for example by the relay S of the Letters Patent of the United States No. 2,273,231, issued February 1'7, 1942, to C. S. Snavely 'et al., it has been necessary to provide a repeating relay SP, which is restored to normal at the end of a complete code, in order to make sure that a code interrupted on any of the steps following the one on which the starting relay is picked up, will be retransmitted. This result is attained in accordance with my invention by the provision of a temporary holding circuit as above described, in addition to the normal holding circuit for the station starting relay ST.

I shall now describe the operation of the office apparatus of Figs. 1A, 1B and 1G in receiving an indication code. It will be understood that relay OR is operated, through transformer RT, to the right on each odd-numbered step and to the left on each even-numbered step, and thus operates its timin and counting relays through sixteen steps in unison with the corresponding relays at the transmitting station;

On the first step, relays OLI, OI, E, PC and PCP pick up as already described, as well as relays 0L2, OLP, OLB and OLBP, but relay OLI does not release because the first step is short. Selected ones of the office relays F, G and S pick up on the steps Corresponding to the digits of the station code call. More particularly, in response to the code call 234, relays 2F and 23G are operated on steps two and three, and relays 234s and SP on step four. In the receiving condition, back contact at of relay OLP in the circuits for these relays is bridged by front contact [of relay PCP, so that these relaysare picked up upon the closing of back contact d of relay OLI or 0L2, on the long steps. 3 e

The energization of relay PCP also prepares a circuit extending fromterminal Bin Fig.'1A overfront contacts 0 of relays OLI and 0L2, front contact e of relay PCP, wire 59, front contact c of relay SP through theupper windin of relay 0CD to terminal G. Since relay SP is picked up over a back contact of relay OLI or 0L2, the circuitfor relay 'OCD is held open on the step on which relays S or SP areoperated, andcloses as soon as relay OLI or 0L2 picks up at the beginning of the next stepfollowing the final digit of the station code call, that is, On the fifth step when the code call is 234. When relay OCD picks up it completes a-stick circuit over itscontact a and lower winding'extending to terminal B at wire" 69.

Relay 00R picks up on thefeighth step as pre-fl viously described. Front contact 7 of relay PCP maintains the connection from terminal Bat wire Glover back contacts (2 of relays 0L! and 0L2 to wires 63 and 64 after relay OCR pick u ',am1 the steps of the code. .That is, when terminal B is} connected to any one of the wires I39 to I45, Fig? If the ninth step is long, for example, relay OLI will release closing its back contact b to complete a circuit from terminal B at contact a of relay OLBP over contact 1 of relay PCP, back contact d of relayOLI, wire 63, front contact b oflrelay OCR, contact e of relay OI through relay 9 to terminal C, relay 9 picking up to complete a stick circuit extending to terminal B at wire 60 over its front contact a, and also closing its contact bt'o connect terminal B to wire 49.

On the sixteenth step, relay OIB picks up, closing a circuit from terminal B over front contacts 0 of relays OCR. and OCD, Fig. 1B, contact 1 of relay OIS, wire 56, co1l1tact b of the selector relay 224s throughthe associated delivery relay 234D to terminal C. Relay 234D therefore becomes energized to operate the indication relays K of the group which it controls in accordance with the positions of the register relays 9 to I5. Relay 234D opens the stick circuits forthe relays K and prepares pick-up circuits for each'of these'relays,

extending over wires 49 to 55 to terminal B at the front contacts b of relays 9 to I5, respectively, the position of which indicates the condition of the indicating relays of the group controlling the A transmission of the code.

The opening of back contact (1 of relay OI6 on the sixteenth step releases relay PC, which in turn releases relay PCP. The release of relay PC restores the line polarity to normal, relay OR being held normal over back contact f of relay PC and front contact a of relay PCP until relay PCP releases, relay OR. being 'disconnectedfrom transformer ET by the opening of back contact 0 of relay M6. The'ofiice timing relays then-release in the normal order, relay OLI being the last to release. Relay OLB releases relay'OI S, which releases relay 234D, reestablishing the stick circuits for the indication relays K which were energized over wires 49 to 55. Relay OLBP releases relays OCR, 0CD, SP and 2343, as well I as the energized relays of the group 9 to I 5..

In the foregoing, it was assumed thatthe code was initiated by the release of the track relay TR,: relay I I] being energized on the tenth step and;

' character.

'In order to insure that magnet PM will be operated iii-response to each train movement through the controlling track section, even though the line circuit does not become available for the transmission of the indication code until after the track section has been vacated, a storing relay v TKS is provided as shown in Fig. 20, which relay is normally held energized over a stick circuit extending from terminal B at its front contact b over front contact a of relay TR through relay TKS to terminal C. The release of relay TR when a trainenters section IT therefore releases relay TKS to open itsstick circuit and to connect terminal B over itsfback contact b, to contact; b of relay MSP, to condition the unit to transmit 23 a track occupied indication. Relay ST is released by the dropping of contact of reIay TKS, and opens its contact din the pick-up circuit for relay TKS extending to terminal B at back contact 72 of relay MSP, so that relay TKS remains released until the track occupied code is transmitted. During the transmission of this code, back contact h of relay MSP opens prior to the closing of contact (1 of relay ST, which occurs on the eighth step, and when back contact h of relay MSP closes again on the sixteenth step, relay TKS becomes reenergized, provided relay ST is picked up, indicating that the track occupied code has been transmitted andprovided also that relay TR is picked up. When relay TKS picks up, the opening of its back contact c releases relay ST again, to initiate a code for indicating the track clear condition, but since relay ST is extremely fast, the energizing circuit for relay TKS is opened by relay ST before relay TKS is fully picked up to establish its stick circuit. A condenser CI of relatively large capacity-provides sufficient energy, storage to prolong the energization of relay TKS until its front contact b closes to establishits stick circuit, under the condition described. 1

Relay TKS also controls a circuit for restoring the polar stick signal control relays to normal when a train enters the track section to release relay TR, to prevent the clearing of the signals automatically when a train vacates the track section, no additional repeating relay being required, this circuit extending from terminal B at back contact b of relay TR over front contact a of relay TKS through the lower windings of relays LHs' and Rl-IS inseries, to .tBrminalC.

I shall next describehow the system is estored to normal in the case of a fault.

A control code may be terminated on an oddnumbered step due to a fault, relay OT being held energized over wire 88, for example. Relay OR is then held reversed until the timing relays OLI OLP, OLB and OLBP release, relay 0L2 remainfurther reception. The release of relay OT closes the line circuit, but the relays R do not pick up because the polarity has been reversed by lay PC. a

When relay PCP picks up, relay OR is operated to normal over the circuit from terminal 0 through its lower winding and back contacts e of relays OT, OM'and X, front contacts 1 and b of relays PC and PCP, front contact I of relay 0L2 and back contacts f of relays OLBP and 0L! to terminal C. The office timing relays are thereby reenergized and relay PC is deenergized, relay PC releasing before relay OLBP picks up. The office timing relays then release in the normal or der due to the deenergization of relay 0L2, and relay PCP also releases, relay OLi being the last to release. 7

When relay PC releases it restores the line nolarity to normal so all'the line relays R pick up in unison, reenergizing their timing relays, and the timing relays at each station then release in normal order, relay OLBP releasing the count-v ing and selecting relay circuits and also releasing relay OM, relay OLi, being the last to release. The station line relays remain steadily energized and their timing relays release in the normal or der as at the end of a complete code, relay Li being the last to release. v

If an indication code is terminated on an oddnumbered step, as for example, would be the case if relay T remainedpicked up due to a fault, relay OR remains reversed until relay OLBP releases, relay OL2 remaining picked up. Relay OR is restored to normal upon the closing of back contact of relay OLBP over the circuit above traced which includes front contacts of relays PC, PCP and 0L2, and back contacts I of relays OLBP AND OLI.

At the transmitting station, relay R remains released, and the timing relays Ll, LP, LB and LBP release. Relay LB releases relay M, which relay releases relay T and removes the lineshunt applied by relay T,-and also reverses the connections for relay R so that relay R remains released, the apparatus assuming the. same. condition as at the other stations where relay R and the timing relays stand released with relay LZ' picked up.

When relay OR is restored to normal, the office in unison, reenergizing their timing relays, and the timingrelays at each station then release in the normal order, qrelay Ll being the last to release. I

If an indication code is terminated on anevennumbered step prior to the sixteenth step, due

to the failure of relay T to pick up; relay OR remains normal-until the timing relays 0L2,

OLP, OLB and OLBP release, the closing of back I contact 1 of relay OLBP completinga circuit for operating relay OR to reverse extendingfromiterminal B at front contact (1 of relay-PCP, back contacts 1" of relays 0L2 and OLBP, front contact b of relay PCP, front contact 1 of-relay PC and back contacts e of relays' X,

V OM and OT through relay OR to terminal 0.

At the transmitting station, relay R remains picked up and the timing relays L2, LP and LB, release. 'Relay'LB releases relay M and reverses the connections for relay R So that relay R re leases, reenergizing the timing relays'whichthen;

release in the order Ll LP, LB and LBP, the apparatus assuming the same conditionas atthe other stations where relay R and the timing relays stand released, with relay R2 picked up.

At the ofiice, relay OR is reversed upon the re lease of relay OLBP, and since the'pick-up circuit for relay PC. is closed when its stick circuit opens, relay PC remains picked up. The office timing relays are reenergized and then release in the order OLI, OLP,'OLB. and OLBPjrelay 0L2 remaining picked up. Relay OR islrestored to normal upon the closing of back contact I of relay OLBP over the circuit above traced which '75,in cludes .front contacts of relays, PC, PCP and. 

